Tent



Jly 17, 1934. J. A, RATTA,l JR 1,966,561

TENT

Filed Dec. 29, 1933 IWW/Im l g Patented July 17, 19234 'f-UNirEofSTATES, PAT-ENT o1-"HCE- i TENT' 1' James Albert Ram., Jr., Brooklyn, NJY., signor f Y to American Telephoneand Telegraph Comi l pany, a corporation Yof New York y Application December 29, 1933, serial No. 704.553 A 8 Claimsf (01.13554) This invention relates to tents'whicl'iI are particularlyadapted for use in inclement weather to form a protective covering. v fIn the maintenance of power transmission lines,` it is necessary that certain inspection and repairs be .made in? inclement weather and "protective coverings or tents are `used atsuch'times l'or `theiprotection-of Workmen engaged in these operations. and also -Vfor. the protection of the v:1.0 lines upon which workis being'performed, such as openisplices, and further for the protection of equipment which vis'being usedin the course ofsuch work. i

'It :is one ofv the objects of this invention to 1.5 provide a tent `of Athe abovecharacter.,

.Another object/consists in the provision of frameworkfor suchtent' which may be readily attached and detached from Vits supports.

Another Yobject is to :provide a tent which may be l'readily erected rand placed in `Van extended and operative position andv taken down an folded into -a collapsed position.

LA further 'object'consists in the provision of clamping imecha'nism for rigidly holding the 2Q tentiri position. .11 1 These and furtherfobjects will be apparent from ithe'ifollo'wlng description `when 'considered in. :connection with.r :the accompanying drawing in 'which one "embodimentof fthe 'invention is illus'trated.VA -fc fw Referring to .thefdraWin'g,'Figure1 is -a perspective View of the improved tent showing' it in fpositionlover. an' `elevated platform 'with the platformE and tent l'supported on'a fmessenger l Wire -which `also supports 'ya `transmissionwline cable.- '.The frame is shown in full lines,V while the tenti W'alls lare `indicated bycl'ash-dot lines, and the platform, cable and supporting messengerl wire appear in "dotted lines; 2 is a detail of one of a pair of members which slid-v ably 'engages the mainV framefwhereby a co1- lapsible vframe on each side VofJthe `main'f1`ame is adjusted, and`Fig. 3 is a detail showing one of -thefclamping elements by .'.whichfthe frame ,45 and tent are secured'f-in positionzon the mes- The improved device is shovwnfor fthe' purpose ofiillstration-asbeing Vassociated with an elevated platform? 5.KY This platform. may r`be secured-to Yafmessen'g'er vwire' 6 which alsoisupports afcable, andY the vmessenger wire. andscabley are strungalong a .seriesrofl` poles in awell known 'manner'. Theplatform may be positioned along transmissionlines `atzpoints .where `the cable 3.55. terminalfboxes appearand atzother. places on the lines which require the services of linemen. Whilethe improved tent ris shown "and described in connection with an aerial line, it will be understood that it is adapted for use in other connections. For instance, it may .be at,- 6o tached to manhole guards yfor the protection of Workmen engaged in underground construction. The improved tentris provided withwalls of canvas 7V about its sides and the end walls have rflap portions 8. These-flap portions may be 'tied 65 together in any suitable manner such las by loopsV` of ropev 9 engaging with grommetsY 10 arranged along the `selvag'e of the ilaps. The top wall-of the tent is provided with inclined portions 11.*which engage with the frame to be 7o presently .c lescribed.l The sections forming` the top and Ysidewalls ofgthe canvas are securely sewed together. l k y l. 'Ihel-mainelementsof therirame for the improved'vdevice may bemade from galvanized 75 steel'pipe. The central leg 12 of said frame .is shownas being ofgenerally U-shape formation, andwhen in; position is inverted and its horizontal'bar while the legs-'of the main frame are attached to the Vmessenger `wirein amanner to -8o bepresently describedformsxa vridge -piecel for the tent.- It will bel-understood, however, that the member 12 may assume .otherv formations than that disclosed-such-forinstance as afD formation. A cylindrical sleeve` portion`13 is 8&5 slidably and rotatably mountedon each ofgthe vertical-'portions of the central leg 12 and is adapted to Ybe moved thereon betweenthe clamping and locking means 14, -14^`secured Vto the ends ofA said legs and the slotted collars 15.,l 15 90 welded tofthe vertical portions of said leg. A casting-having a 4circular portion 1,6 which loosely surroundsjeach ofthe cylindrical sleeves 13 is providedr with a pair of bifurcated portions 17, 17 as more clearly shown inFig.- 2. An extension 95 frame 18, 18 -is mounted on each side ofthe `central frame 12, and these frames are of substantially the same formation and dimension as the central mainframe.Y` The side frames have flattenedpextremities which yare pivotally-,en- 1,00

gaged lbetween the ybi'furcated portions 17, 1,7 soV that Ysaid frames may be moved from their raised and extended positions as indicated in Eig. 1, to

a collapsed position, in which Vposition they will with 1.a vertical .extension-.19 havingf-fthereina 110 slot 20, and said sleeves may be rotated on the Vertical legs of the central frame 12 by a handknob 21. The circular portion 16 of the casting is maintained in a position between the extension 19, which is adapted to rotate on the top surface of said portion, and the hand-knob 21, which abuts the lower surface of said portion, so that the casting and collar 13 slide together as a unit on the vertical legs of the main frame 12. The extension 19 has a hooked end portion which may register with the slot in the collar 15 when the sleeve portion has been rotated to that point, permitting the hooked end to pass through the slot in the collar. Stops v(not shown) may be provided on the circular portion 16 to guide the engagement of the extension 19 with the slot in the collar. Further rotation of the extension 19 at this time causes its hooked end to engage over and ride upon the upper surface of the collar 15 with the periphery of said collar registering in the slot 20 of the extension. When in this position the ends of the side frames 18 are locked to the collar 15 on the central frame 12, and the closed ends of cross-bars of said side frames are enclosed in pockets 22. These pockets are provided by flaps stitched to the canvas and are formed at the intersections of the top walls l1 and side walls 7 of the tent. The flaps may be formed into pockets in any suitable manner; for instance, grommets may be provided and lacing introduced therethrough. When the side frames are extended they cause the walls of the tent to'assume the formation shown in Fig. 1. An additional pocket 22 is also formed at the ridge of the canopy and encloses the vcross-bar of the main frame 12. When the cross-bars of the main and side frames are thus enclosed in the pockets, the top wall of the canopy assumes a spread position and the side Walls extend vertically therefrom to or below the platform, as indicated in Fig. 1. When the side frames are collapsed by an operation reverse to that above described the walls of the canopy assume a foldedl position. The provision of the pockets 22, 22' also serves to limit the downward movement of the side frames and maintains the cross-bars of the mainframe and side frame in deiinite relation to each other when the canopy is in spread position. Ropes 26 are shown as being attached to the cross-bars of the side frames, and these ropes may be tied at their other ends to the platform 5 to more rigidly hold the frame structure in position'.V

vThe Vtent frame is attached and supported on the messenger wire 6 by means of the clamps 14, 14 which lock the central frame 12 thereto. These clamps are provided with cylindrical arms 23 which are securely welded or votherwise attached tothe vertical extremities of the central frame in any suitable manner and extend in a perpendicular direction therefrom. The arms 23 cause the main frame 12 t`o be positioned in offset relation to the messenger wire when placed thereon. The positioning of the frame in this offset manner prevents interference with guard arms on poles when the improved tents are used adjacent to poles equipped with this construction. The outer ends of the sleeves'23 are provided -with transverse slots in which the messenger wire 6 is adapted to be placed, and the central portions of said sleeves are threaded, as .may be seenbyrreference to Fig. 3, to engage With an interiorly threaded tubular nut 24. This nut is adapted to be moved along the Sleeve to engage the messenger wire and clamp the frame in locked relation thereto.

The top walls of the canvas for the canopy are stretched over the cross-bars of the frame, as previously pointed out, and assume an inclined position to shed moisture, and the side walls extend downwardly from the vframe structure and below the platform, thus providing a complete enclosure for the protection of a workman.

What is claimed is:

l. In a tent, a collapsible frame including a main member having supporting legs, the crossbar portion of which supports the central portion of a canopy, side members of U-shape having the ends of their legs adjustably mounted on the legs of the main member, said side members being adapted to be folded against said main member or to be extended sidewise therefrom, said canopy extending over the cross-bar of the main member to the cross-bars of the side members so that when the side members are extended the canopy will be in operative position.

2. In a tent, a collapsible frame including a'main member of invertedU-shape, the horizontal bar of which supports the central Vportion of a canopy, side members of U-shape having the ends of their legs adjustably mounted on the legs of the main member said side members being adapted to be folded against said main member or to be extended sidewise therefrom, said canopy extending over said horizontal bar of the main member to the cross-bars of the side members so that when the side members are extended the canopy will be in operative position, and means forsupporting said frame in locked position above the Vsurface over which the tent is mounted.

3. In a tent, a collapsible frame including a main member of inverted U-shape, the ,horizontal bar of which supports the central portion of a canopy, side members of U-shape having the ends of their legs adjustably mounted on the legs of the main member said side members being adapted to be folded against said main member or to be extended sidewise therefrom, said canopy extending over the horizontal bar of the main member to the cross-bars of .the side members and having side walls extending downwardly therefrom, said canopy.' being in operative position when the side members are extended.

4. In a tent, a collapsible frame including a main member of inverted U-shape, the horizontal cross bar of'which supports the central portion of a canopy, side members of U-shape having the ends of their legs adjustably mounted on the legs of the main member, said side members being adapted to be folded against said main member or to be extended sidewise therefrom, saidy canopy extending. over the cross-bar of the main member to the cross-bars of the side members so that when the side members are extended the canopy will be in operative position, and pockets in said canopy for the reception of the cross-bars of the main member and side members.l V v 5. In a tent, a collapsible frame includingva main member of inverted U-shape, thehorizontal cross bar of which supports the central portion of a canopy, side members of U-shape having the ends'of their legs adjustably mounted on the legs of the main member, said; side members being adapted to be folded against said main vmember or to be extended sidewise thereico ris

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from, means for locking the side members to the main member, said canopy extending overV the cross-bar of the main member to the croissbars of the side members so that when the side members are extended the canopy will be in operative position, pockets in saidv canopy for the reception of the cross-bars of the main and side members and coacting therewith in the folding and spreading of said canopy, and means for supporting said frame in locked position above the surfaceover which the tent is mounted.

6. In a tent, a collapsible frame including a main member of inverted U-shape, the horizontal cross bar of which supports the central portion of a canopy, side members of U-shape having the ends of their legs adjustably mounted on the legs of the main member said side members being adapted to be folded against said main member or to beextended sidewise therefrom, means for locking the ends of the legs of the side members to the legs of the main member in the extended position of the Vside members, said canopy extending over the Vcross-bar of the main member to the cross-bars of the side members, and having side Walls extending downwardly therefrom, said canopy being in operative position when the side members are extended, and pockets in said canopy Vand engaging the cross-bars of the side members whereby said members are held in extended position.

7. In a tent, a collapsible frame adapted to be supported upon a horizontally extending wire lor bar, said frame including a main member of substantially inverted U-shape, thevhorizontal cross bar of which supports the central portion of a canopy, side members of U-shape havingv are extended the canopy will be inoperative position, and means for clampedly connecting said frame to the horizontally extending wire or bar inoiset relation to its point of support.

8. In a tent, a collapsible frame including a main member of inverted U-shape, ther horizontal cross bar of which supports the central portion of a canopy, side members of U-shape having the ends of their legs adjustably mounted on the legs of the main member said side members being adapted to be folded against said main member or to be extended sidewise therefrom, means for locking the ends of the legs of the side members to the legs of the main member in the extended position of the side members, said canopy extending over the crossbar of the main member to the cross-bars of the side members, and having side walls extending downwardly therefrom, said canopy being in operative position when the side members are extended, pockets in said canopy and engaging the cross-bars of the side members whereby said members are held. in extended position and means for clampedly locking the main frame in offset relation to its point of support.

JAMES A. RA'IIA, Jn.

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